03/25/2013

Worth The Money? "The Croods"

One of the missions of this blog is to help readers to make
the most of their money, and as a strategy to help with this I will occasionally
bring you a review of a product, service, or something else you may be
considering spending your hard earned dough on.
I hate dropping my money on something new and realizing it was a total waste,
so I hope I can be a resource for you when it comes to researching before you
commit. I will give you my opinion on
whether or not something is “worth the money”.
After all, nobody likes buyer’s remorse.

Today I’m bringing you a movie review. I only go to the movie theater a few times a
year. Something about the $10.00 price
of a matinee ticket acts as a solid deterrent.
This week, though, I was invited by a close girlfriend to a screening
of “The Croods”.

"The Croods" – Worth the Money?

Yes!

I walked in half expecting to be underwhelmed, by this
Dreamworks picture. Dreamworks is no
Pixar, and has been inconsistent over the years with highs like “Megamind” and
lows like “Shark Tale”. “The Croods”
lands squarely in the high category. The
animated family comedy follows a lovable, prehistoric family as they grapple
with a world that is, well...ending. Don’t
worry – this isn’t a depressing doomsday film, and you won’t have to have
uncomfortable conversations with your kids about why the Crood family went
extinct. In this film, the world is only
ending as the Crood’s know it. When we
meet our leading family we learn that they are living their lives by honoring
one value above all others – fear. Maybe
it’s because I’m an anxious person by nature, but I found the Crood’s mantra “Never
not be afraid” to be very endearing. The
heroine of the story, Eep Crood disagrees with me. Voiced by the hilarious Emma Stone – she is a
young adult looking for adventure and change.
In her quest she encounters a slightly more evolved B.C. counterpart named “Guy”
– who forewarns her about the end of the world.
This sets up the plot of the movie which centers around a wild family
road trip for Guy and The Croods as they seek out a new world with volcanic eruptions
and crumbling rock formations nipping at their heels. Subtract all the prehistoric elements and you’ve
got a smart family road trip comedy, minus the wood paneled station wagon.

You wouldn’t want to subtract the prehistoric elements
though, because they make for some wildly entertaining hijinks. Sure, some of the humor is a bit crude (no
pun intended), but it’s also very clever.
It’s a laugh out loud film, where you forget about how you look to the
person sitting next to you and engage in full on belly laughing. For me it was a joyous escape from the stress
of my busy life, and I loved every minute of it.

The stellar cast includes Nicholas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, and
Cloris Leachman. The world that they
encounter on their road trip is lush and beautiful – filled with a menagerie of
wild creatures. Some are scary, some are
cute – none following the norms of animal kingdom. Imagine Wizard of Oz meets The Natural
History Museum. It’s a blast, and it’s
beautiful in 3-D.

My only complaint would be that the movie’s end is a little
contrived and emotionally draining. At
points I really didn’t know if the movie was going to end in tragedy or triumph. I even found myself whispering to my friend
at one point, “Oh no – is this going to be a “Bambi” moment?”. So the end wasn’t as strong as the rest of
the film. I can overlook it because the
rest of the movie was just so fun. I
would say this movie is worth the money for families – but you don’t need to be
accompanied by a child to enjoy this movie.

I'm not an expert. This is soley my opinion. I have received no payment or compensation for this review, nor do I have any affiliation or relationship with the supplier of this film. All logos and trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Comments

Worth The Money? "The Croods"

One of the missions of this blog is to help readers to make
the most of their money, and as a strategy to help with this I will occasionally
bring you a review of a product, service, or something else you may be
considering spending your hard earned dough on.
I hate dropping my money on something new and realizing it was a total waste,
so I hope I can be a resource for you when it comes to researching before you
commit. I will give you my opinion on
whether or not something is “worth the money”.
After all, nobody likes buyer’s remorse.

Today I’m bringing you a movie review. I only go to the movie theater a few times a
year. Something about the $10.00 price
of a matinee ticket acts as a solid deterrent.
This week, though, I was invited by a close girlfriend to a screening
of “The Croods”.

"The Croods" – Worth the Money?

Yes!

I walked in half expecting to be underwhelmed, by this
Dreamworks picture. Dreamworks is no
Pixar, and has been inconsistent over the years with highs like “Megamind” and
lows like “Shark Tale”. “The Croods”
lands squarely in the high category. The
animated family comedy follows a lovable, prehistoric family as they grapple
with a world that is, well...ending. Don’t
worry – this isn’t a depressing doomsday film, and you won’t have to have
uncomfortable conversations with your kids about why the Crood family went
extinct. In this film, the world is only
ending as the Crood’s know it. When we
meet our leading family we learn that they are living their lives by honoring
one value above all others – fear. Maybe
it’s because I’m an anxious person by nature, but I found the Crood’s mantra “Never
not be afraid” to be very endearing. The
heroine of the story, Eep Crood disagrees with me. Voiced by the hilarious Emma Stone – she is a
young adult looking for adventure and change.
In her quest she encounters a slightly more evolved B.C. counterpart named “Guy”
– who forewarns her about the end of the world.
This sets up the plot of the movie which centers around a wild family
road trip for Guy and The Croods as they seek out a new world with volcanic eruptions
and crumbling rock formations nipping at their heels. Subtract all the prehistoric elements and you’ve
got a smart family road trip comedy, minus the wood paneled station wagon.

You wouldn’t want to subtract the prehistoric elements
though, because they make for some wildly entertaining hijinks. Sure, some of the humor is a bit crude (no
pun intended), but it’s also very clever.
It’s a laugh out loud film, where you forget about how you look to the
person sitting next to you and engage in full on belly laughing. For me it was a joyous escape from the stress
of my busy life, and I loved every minute of it.

The stellar cast includes Nicholas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, and
Cloris Leachman. The world that they
encounter on their road trip is lush and beautiful – filled with a menagerie of
wild creatures. Some are scary, some are
cute – none following the norms of animal kingdom. Imagine Wizard of Oz meets The Natural
History Museum. It’s a blast, and it’s
beautiful in 3-D.

My only complaint would be that the movie’s end is a little
contrived and emotionally draining. At
points I really didn’t know if the movie was going to end in tragedy or triumph. I even found myself whispering to my friend
at one point, “Oh no – is this going to be a “Bambi” moment?”. So the end wasn’t as strong as the rest of
the film. I can overlook it because the
rest of the movie was just so fun. I
would say this movie is worth the money for families – but you don’t need to be
accompanied by a child to enjoy this movie.

I'm not an expert. This is soley my opinion. I have received no payment or compensation for this review, nor do I have any affiliation or relationship with the supplier of this film. All logos and trademarks are properties of their respective owners.